Crashing Double Dates: A Mixtape
by Unread-Letters
Summary: When Tony forces bonding on the residents of Avengers Tower, Steve finds he wouldn't mind getting to know Darcy.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot, that's all mine. Everything else belongs to Marvel Comics, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige and anyone else involved in "Thor," "Captain America," and "the Avengers." The song referenced in the story is "Road to Joy" by Bright Eyes. Tom Waits belongs to himself. **

**Author's Note: It has been a long time since I have written anything so thanks for reading. This story has nothing to do with my other Darcy series and is just a one shot. I may have a second part coming and I was half debating listing the songs on Darcy's mix tape but we'll see. Questions, comments, and criticisms are always accepted. Enjoy!**

**Crashing Double Dates: A Mixtape**

**By: Unread Letters**

"_You sat in that chair like a queen in the kitchen. I memorized the lines your eyes made at_ _every squint you shot my way.__"-Lifetime_

Living in Stark Tower proves to be a whole new experience for Steve. The closest he's ever come to it would be the boarding houses in Brooklyn but at least then he could be on his own, wallow in his grief and confusion. The Tower is chock full of different personalities and he'd be lying if he told you he wasn't skeptical to move in. The idea of being that close to people again came with a deep sense of foreboding. Sure, Steve had become fast friends with Nat and Sam and trusts all of his fellow Avengers with more than his life but letting someone in and probably loosing them again isn't something Steve can handle right now. He's still dealing with Bucky and the Winter Solider and everything that implies. He moves into the Tower but never stays more than a day or two at a time and is gone almost whole seasons. His life is devoted to finding and helping his friend and he can't seem to let go of it. But there comes a time when he has to because he's exhausted and drawn and doesn't have any tears left to cry or any more leads so he heads home to the Tower and tries so hard to be alone.

But Tony has this way of forcing bonding on people and Steve's not surprised to find it extends to their living arrangements. The Tower is huge and Steve's room would be considered a penthouse anywhere else but the building still has active shared quarters: a living room, a gym, a dining room, and a kitchen. He's happy to cook for himself and would rather stay in his room but Tony pushes so much. So what comes to pass after a couple months of people filtering in and out are what Clint calls, "TV Family nights. No, Tony, not like TV dinners. Nights like the families on TV have. Like the Waltons. Wholesome shit like that." They play board games in the living room every Thursday and take turns making dinner for each other twice a week. Tony rolls a die to set pairs and puts a little calendar on the refrigerator with everyone's assigned nights. That's how Steve gets to know Darcy.

Thor decides to make Stark Tower his permanent residence not long after Steve and it only takes about six months before Jane, Thor's girl, and her quirky sidekick (her words not Steve's)occupy space. Darcy refuses to out right move in, prefers to keep her own personal apartment in Brooklyn but she's still in the Tower enough that Tony includes her in everything.

Steve's infatuated by Darcy pretty much immediately. She's a little too loud and a little too sarcastic but that draws Steve to her. She doesn't put any of them on a pedestal (except maybe Thor) and despite her civilian status, falls into their world of Science Fiction and Superheroes seamlessly. She makes easy friends with Clint and astutely helps Bruce and Jane in the labs. When Sam drops in on the weekends, she always offers him a cup of coffee and Steve admires the familiarity in the way the two talk with ease about the latest episode of whatever show about zombies or vampires they watch. Even Natasha quirks a smile at Darcy's little barbs.

So after everyone's moved in and settled and Steve has to take a break from the Bucky search because it's too much, Tony announces that they need to start having family dinners. He rolls his die and makes his calendar and Steve and Darcy play chef every other Wednesday.

Steve's not the best in the kitchen but he's a quick learner. Darcy gives him directions at first but after a couple months they have a silent communication going. She's a good cook and knows her way around the kitchen. She leaves recipes outside of his door some times with big question marks written on them, waiting for his approval, but he agrees to everything. She goes out of her way to make sure everyone is accounted for; there's always vegetarian and vegan options to everything and she always accounts for extras of Thor and Steve's favorites.

Steve starts looking forward to every other Wednesday the way Darcy and Sam look forward to their TV shows. She babbles while they cook. She relays anecdotes about people she went to high school with or rants about her cousin who's getting married in the fall. Darcy "doesn't want to be a bridesmaid but she'd feel like a dick if she said no." In between stories, she asks Steve question after question and he finds that it's easy to open up to her. He can drop the formalities and just be Steve. One night while folding egg whites he spills his heart about how trying it is looking for Bucky and turning up short. He tells her how defeated he feels and how difficult it can be to put up the front. She doesn't say anything. There are no disingenuous "it'll be okays," no "aww Steves" but he finds immense comfort in the small hand that reaches up to touch his shoulder while she lays her cheek against his back. He sighs loudly, trying to keep in a sob, as she pats his bicep and runs her hand down to his elbow before asking him to pass her the pepper and turning away so he can wipe at his eyes without an audience. She respects his privacy and doesn't bring up Bucky again unless Steve offers first but she always listens quietly, offering some show of encouragement and consolation.

When the mood is good and thoughts of Bucky are hidden, Darcy always insists on listening to the radio. Steve's happy to see that she doesn't push a button into her phone or request JARVIS play the latest top 40. Whenever they make dinner together, she brings over a small brown Wi-Fi at least 40 years old. "A gift from a boss, three bosses ago, " she says with a shrug of her shoulders. "There was a great jazz station in Culver. Used to listen to it in the coffee shop I worked at in high school."

She plops it down next to the stove and struggles on her tiptoes to stretch over the counter for the plug. He offered, once, to reach for her and she huffed out a laugh and said "I got it, dude." And she did, somehow, elongating her arms and biting her tongue between her teeth. The dial always gets moved and Steve and the familiar radio static reminds Steve of his first life, the one be barely remembers sometimes. It's broadcast from some college upstate but Darcy explains to anyone who'll listen that the evening DJ is the best because of what he plays. "It's a good mix," she spouts enthusiastically the first time he hands her canned tomatoes off the top shelf of the pantry. He had insisted when she started dragging a chair over and laughed lightly as she pursed her lips at him. "You might actually like some of it."

It is a mix, that's for sure, and she's right, he does like some of it. It's a weird blend of eras and styles and he's just glad it's not the usual stuff he hears playing all over. What he really likes, though, isn't the music. He likes Darcy's reaction to it.

It's probably the fifth time they've been on duty together and Steve knows his infatuation is growing as he becomes more and more comfortable with her. She's rummaging around the bottom drawer of the fridge while he's reaching over her to get something from the shelf above when she gasps. His first instinct is to look down and make sure he hadn't actually stepped on her but she turns and stands quickly. She's clutching an ear of corn to her chest and swaying slightly. It takes him a minute to realize that it's in time to the music coming softly from the radio.

"Sorry Steve," she gushes as she slides under his arm that is holding the refrigerator door open, "but it's my man." She spins herself around dramatically and plops into her usual stool by the counter.

He grabs the garlic and spins around, cringing slightly at the sound of fridge door slamming. "Didn't you just go out with the guy last week? He's your man now?"

She looks up from her seat, holding a half shucked ear of corn and chuckles, "No, not that guy. I can't believe I haven't told you that horror story yet. No this is Conor and despite what I just said Conor is no one's man except maybe Winona's but," she shakes her head, "aaaannnnyyyway…that guy on the radio is one of my favorite favorites. Ugh. Brilliant."

Steve shrugs his shoulders but can't stop looking at her. She's back to cleaning the corn but her eyes are shut taught and she's swaying to the music. "He's all right."

She opens her eyes with a snap and attempts to throw silk at him. Steve chuckles. "He's a poet, Rogers. In high school I used to have lunch with this group of five or six punk boys. Real tough guys. My junior year, Conor released two albums. I kid you not, we spent probably three lunch periods the week those albums came out analyzing every single song. 'Do you think his stutter in the opening track was intentional?' 'Nah, I think he really stutters like that.' 'Dude, I dunno. Count the pauses between them.' I'm serious. He even speaks to toughest of the tough."

"If you say so." Steve likes when she tells stories. She forces aspects of her life on people and he wishes he could be that open. He's at ease in the Tower and with the Avengers but aside from that night in the kitchen with Darcy he's still very much closed off to almost everyone. He's envious of Darcy's emotional freedom but he's also very curious about her. "So what's this horror story?"

She sings along with the radio, "LET'S FUCK IT UP BOYS! MAKE SOME NOISE! That's my favorite line." She gushes as she sets the corn aside and gets up to stir the sauce bubbling at the stove. "Okay so it was a double date, right? I was taking your girlfriend from Statistics and Rob was supposed to bring a friend."

Steve adds some garlic to the sauce and laughs, "Please stop calling her that."

Darcy winks at him, "She probably calls herself that. Anyway, so Kristen and I are hanging out waiting for Rob and his friend and…you'll never believe this. He shows up with ANOTHER GIRL! Right?! And informs us that another COUPLE is going to meet us."

Steve can't stop himself from letting out a loud guffaw. "Son of a gun, you're kiddin' me?"

"Oh I wish I was, Grandpa. The best part? This girl, Nicole, totally in love with him. Dude has no clue." She explains as she resumes her seat next to her her half cleaned pile of corn.

Steve shakes his head as he dices up onions. "Son of a gun is still a relevant expression. But, seriously, that's shitty, Darcy. I'm sorry."

She cleans off the last ear of corn and shrugs her shoulders while carrying it over to the stove, "Eh. It's whatever. I kinda liked him though. That first date was pretty great. Oh well."

Steve knows she's putting up a front. She's hurt, he can tell, and he wants more than anything to pummel this Rob kid. "Assholes like that aren't worth your time. You deserve better."

She smiles lightly and turns away from him. He doesn't miss her quiet sigh as she starts stirring the sauce on the stove.

A commercial about a new bookstore in Binghamton plays before a song with a beating piano and a man with a sandpaper voice begins. Darcy holds the spoon to her chest and twirls around. "Now they're playing Tom! It's Darcy hour on TMD." She spins back around and dips the spoon in the sauce. "Come here. Check if it's poisoned."

Steve is amazed at how quickly she hides her feelings. It makes him want to wrap his arms around her. Instead he puts on his best Captain America voice, "you shouldn't joke about those things, young lady. Poisoning is a very serious crime."

"I know. I know." She shoves the spoon up to his mouth and he tastes it tentatively. "Well?" She hums along to the piano while he contemplates.

"Pretty damn good."

"Sure? Not too much salt?" She offers him up another spoonful.

He swallows the spoonful and licks his lips. "Positive. Also poison free."

She chuffs him on the shoulder and smiles wide, "That's why I like having you around." She turns the flame on a pot of water while he grabs her ears of corn. "That and you don't complain about my station."

He slowly drops the corn in the pot and smiles down at her, "It's not so bad. Some of it I actually like."

She hops triumphantly, "Hah! I knew it.

"Some of it's real strange, though." He chuckles, "this one is climbing the charts."

She glares at him through the steam coming from the pots, "So help me God, Star Spangled Man, if you insult Tom Waits in front of me I'll have your ass."

Steve stands at his full height and looks down at her, "You think so?"

She squares up to him and barely reaches his chest, "Oh, I know so."

He scoffs but doesn't fight the smile playing on his lips. "I'd like to see you try."

"Oh, it's on Rogers." Before he knows it, Darcy barrels at him. She's got her hands around his waist, pushing with every muscle in her body but he won't budge. Instead he just laughs, loud and hearty, like he rarely does anymore. He lets her push and pull for a couple more minutes before stopping her movements.

She giggles when she meets his eyes. Her cheeks are red and her smile wide. "That was only a precursor. Just you wait, Rogers. Sleep with one eye open."

He puts his hands up in mock surrender, "Okay. Whatever you say, Miss Lewis."

"Damn right." She nods at him and grabs the stack of plates from the counter, making her way out of the kitchen. He lets her go a couple feet before snapping a tea towel at her. She yelps and turns to glare at him but he's doubled over with laughter.

"Grow up, old man." He hears her shout from the dining room.

"It's overrated." He answers as he follows her path with a mound of silverware.

Steve quiets as people start filing in for dinner. He has a tendency to guard himself in larger groups. Nat sits next to him at dinner to discuss an upcoming mission but he can't keep his eyes off of Darcy. She's so effortless with everyone. He's watching her pat Bruce lightly on the arm when Nat clears her throat.

"Hmmm? Sorry." He offers as he takes a drink.

"Nothing just observing." She winks at him and turns to her right to talk to Jane.

Steve chances a glance at Darcy again and meets her eyes. She winks at him before laughing at something Clint says.

Steve will avoid her for two weeks because that's easy. He's not ready to meet anyone; was never any good with dames anyway. He likes Darcy because she can be his friend. He doesn't need anything more than that. He repeats this like a mantra over and over again.

He wakes up early Thursday morning and goes for a run like he always does. When he gets back there's a small package propped up against his door. Its wrapped in newspaper with a badly scrawled note taped to the top:

Totally just realized you probably don't have a CD player. Oh well, you can borrow mine. Enjoy! Darce.

He opens it before the door is closed behind him. It's a CD, labeled with the same scrawl from the note, "Crashing Double Dates: a mixtape by Darcy A. Lewis." He does have a CD player and he puts it in immediately. It's a good mix and he notices it features a couple songs he's heard over the past couple weeks, songs played on Darcy's station. Maybe she saw him tapping a toe or humming along. Maybe she had started watching him too.

**The End.**


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